A preliminary finding on the effectiveness of fishways at Kurichhu dam in Bhutan

Abstract

Fishways are constructed at Kurichhu and Dagachhu hydropower projects to mitigate the impact of hydropower projects on migratory fishes. But none of the agencies has made attempts to evaluate the efficiency of the existing fishways until today. Thus, the study was undertaken to collect preliminary data on fish species diversity and size span that ascends through fishway of Kurichhu dam. Fish species composition and diversity varied among the sampling period. The preliminary findings recorded nine fish species within the vicinity of the project area, of which eight fish species irrespective of their sizes were found utilizing the fishway facility.